The Search for Wild Relatives of Cool Season Legumes (SpringerBriefs in Plant Science)

The study of origin and domestication of legumes described in this book emerged when it became apparent that while this kind of information is adequate for cereals, the pulses lagged behind. At the end of the 1960s the senior author initiated a study on the chickpea's wild relatives followed by similar attempts for broad bean, fenugreek, common vetch, bitter vetch, and lentil. The junior author joined the project in the late 1980s with a study of the genetics of interspecific hybrid embryo abortion in lentil and later has extensively investigated chickpea domestication and wild peas. While this book mainly describes our research findings, pertinent results obtained by others are also discussed and evaluated. Studying the wild relatives of legumes included evaluation of their taxonomic status, their morphological variation, ecological requirements, exploration of their distribution, and seed collection in their natural habitats. Seeds were examined for their protein profile as preliminary hints of their affinity to the cultigens and plants grown from these seeds were used for establishing their karyotype, producing intra- and interspecific hybrids and analyses of their chromosome pairing at meiosis and fertility. The aim of these investigations was the identification of the potential wild gene pool of the domesticated forms. Assessment of genetic variation among accessions, particularly in the genus Lens, was made by isozymes and chloroplast DNA studies. The main findings include the discovery of the chickpea wild progenitor; studies of lentil in three crossability groups; wild peas proceeded in two lines of study; faba bean and fenugreek and their wild progenitors have not yet been identified; common vetch and its related form were treated here as an aggregate (A. sativa); we found gene flow between members of different karyotypes is possible; bitter vetch and its relation to the domesticated form were established by breeding experiments. This work is a result of 40 years of research, mainly by the authors, on wild relatives of seven important cool season legumes. The primary aim of this research was to identifying the potential of wild relatives of these legumes for breeding purposes. Studying the wild relatives of cool season legumes includes evaluation of their taxonomic status, their morphological variation, ecological requirements, exploration of their distribution, and seed collection in their natural habitats. These seeds were used for examining their protein profile as preliminary hints of their affinity to the cultigens. Plants grown from these seeds were used for establishing their karyotype, producing intra- and interspecific hybrids and analyses of their chromosome pairing at meiosis and fertility. The aim of these investigations was the identification of the potential wild gene pool of the domesticated forms. Assessment of genetic variation among accessions, particularly in the genus Lens, was made by isozymes and chloroplast DNA studies. 2.6 Economic Potential of Wild Genetic Resources of Chickpea2.7 The Mystery of Cicer canariense; 2.8 Pathosystems of Ascochyta Blight in Chickpea and Its Wild Relatives; 2.9 Chickpea Domestication; 2.9.1 Evidence for Introgression from Domesticated to Wild Chickpea; Chapter 3; The Pisum Genus; 3.1 Morphology and Taxonomy; 3.1.1 Key to Pisum Species and Subspecies; 3.2 Distribution and Ecology; 3.2.1 Pisum fulvum; 3.2.2 Pisum sativum ssp. elatius; 3.2.3 Pisum sativum ssp. humile; 3.2.3.1 Pisum sativum ssp. humile var. syriacum; 3.2.3.2 Pisum sativum ssp. humile var. humile 3.3 Crossability and Species Relationship3.4 Species Relationships in Pisum as Inferred from DNA Sequence Comparisons; 3.5 Utilization of Wild Pisum Germplasm for Pea Improvement; 3.5.1 Pisum fulvum; 3.5.2 Pisum sativum ssp. humile; 3.5.3 Pisum sativum ssp. elatius; 3.6 Pea Domestication; Chapter 4; Legumes with No Documented Genetic Relatives; 4.1 Faba Bean; 4.1.1 Chromosome Numbers and Karyotypes; 4.1.2 Seed Protein Profiles; 4.1.3 Crossability Experiments; 4.1.4 Characterization of the Hypothetical Wild Progenitor of Faba Bean; 4.2 Fenugreek; Chapter 5; Fodder Crops 1.7 Crossability and Cytogenetic Relationships1.7.1 Genetic Nature of Hybrid Embryo Breakdown in the Genus Lens; 1.8 The Wild Gene Pool of Lentil; 1.8.1 Potential of the Wild Genetic Resources; 1.9 The Species Concept; 1.10 Lentil Domestication; 1.10.1 Wild Lentil as a Food Source for Prehistoric Humans; 1.10.2 The Mystery of Early Lentil Cultivation; 1.11 Wild Genetic Stock of the Domesticated Lentil; Chapter 2; The Annual Species of the Cicer Genus; 2.1 Taxonomy of Annual Cicer Species; 2.1.1 Key to the Annual Cicer Species; 2.2 Morphology of Annual Cicer Species 2.2.1 Cicer arietinum ssp. arietinum2.2.2 Cicer arietinum ssp. reticulatum; 2.2.3 Cicer bijugum; 2.2.4 Cicer chorassanicum; 2.2.5 Cicer cuneatum; 2.2.6 Cicer echinospermum; 2.2.7 Cicer judaicum; 2.2.8 Cicer pinnatifidum; 2.2.9 Cicer yamashitae; 2.3 The Search for the Wild Progenitor of Chickpea; 2.4 Distribution and Ecology of Other Annual Wild Chickpea Species; 2.4.1 Cicer bijugum; 2.4.2 Cicer chorassanicum; 2.4.3 Cicer cuneatum; 2.4.4 Cicer judaicum; 2.4.5 Cicer pinnatifidum; 2.4.6 Cicer yamashitae; 2.5 Crossability Relationships Among the Annual Chickpea Species Preface ; Contents; Chapter 1; The Lens Genus; 1.1 Morphology and Taxonomy; 1.1.1 Lens Morphology; 1.1.2 Key to the Lens Species; 1.2 Description, Ecology and Distribution; 1.2.1 Lens culinaris ssp. culinaris; 1.2.2 Lens culinaris ssp. orientalis; 1.2.3 Lens ervoides; 1.2.4 Lens ervoides in Ethiopia and Uganda; 1.2.5 Lens lamottei; 1.2.6 Lens nigricans; 1.2.7 Lens odemensis; 1.2.8 Lens tomentosus; 1.3 Genetics of Morphological Variation in Wild Lentils; 1.4 Dwarfing Genes in the Genus Lens; 1.5 Variation in Molecular Markers; 1.6 Chromosome Variation 5.1 Vicia Sativa, Aggregate of Common Vetch